


Always Be My Baby

by xlifefulloflaughterx



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Father-Daughter Relationship, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25516033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xlifefulloflaughterx/pseuds/xlifefulloflaughterx
Summary: It was a talk no single dad ever wanted to have with their teenage daughter...Frank gets an unexpected call from his baby girl in the middle of the night. Navigating fatherhood is hard enough, but doing it without Maria felt like an unscalable mountain.AU.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Always Be My Baby

Frank was reading under the low light of the bedside lamp, one ankle crossed over the other, when his phone rang.

Frowning, he reached over and picked it up, seeing her name on the screen. His blood ran cold when he heard the hitch of her breath. She was crying.

He was already off the bed, searching for a shirt when she spoke.

“…dad”

“What’s wrong? Where are you?” he asked, holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder so he could zip his hoody.

“Can you come get me…?”

“I’m comin’ now”

The digital clock on the dashboard read 23:47 and his phone illuminated the car as he turned on the engine. Squinting at the brightness, he saw that she’d shared her location. It was a house on some suburban street 20 minutes away. He didn’t recognise the address.

He turned the radio on, volume high, in an attempt to stop his brain running through every possible scenario. He couldn’t help it though. It was ingrained behaviour. There was a pistol in the glovebox and, while he hadn’t had reason to use it lately, he wouldn’t hesitate if his baby girl was in danger.

He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as the skies opened and it started to pour with rain.

The wipers were working overtime as he pulled onto the street. He thought he’d got the wrong place until he saw her and his heart broke. She was standing on the sidewalk, arms wrapped around herself, soaked to the skin.

He pulled up, leaning over to push the door open.

She didn’t look at him when she climbed in, slamming the door shut and plunging the car into darkness again.

He pulled off, heading back towards home. As they merged onto the highway, he did a quick stock take. She didn’t look hurt, but she was shivering, teary eyes illuminated by the headlights of passing cars. Her long dark hair was sopping wet and her eyelashes were dripping.

“Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?” 

When she started crying again, he softened, feeling like an asshole.

It was times like these that he felt most lost without Maria. Trying to navigate everything that came with having a teenage daughter was difficult enough, but doing it on his own still scared him every day.

He pulled over on the side of the road, unzipping his hoody and wrapping it around her.

“Tell me what’s wrong…” he asked, softly this time. “…please”

She was inconsolable. He’d never seen her like this. Even when she was small enough to still want him to take her to the park and push her on the swings, she never cried when she grazed her knee or when one of the other kids pushed her over. Seeing her this upset filled him with dread.

“I thought you were sleepin’ at Sarah’s tonight?” he asked.

She sniffed, taking a deep breath and trying to pull herself together.

“…’m sorry dad”

“What are you sorry for?” he frowned.

She opened her mouth, but then she started crying again, wiping away frustrated tears with the sleeve of the hoody.

“I knew you’d say no if I asked…”

The cogs were turning in his head, and he didn’t like the conclusions he was drawing. He licked his lips, trying to keep his head, waiting for her to continue.

It felt like a lifetime. And then she said it and his stomach turned over.

“…I had sex with him”

“Who is he?! I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him” he started the engine and she grabbed his arm.

“No…please dad, don’t!”

She was sobbing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath now.

He was shaking with rage. He wanted to scream and shout. But that wasn’t what she needed.

He took a slow, deep breath. It physically hurt him to see her like this, with her knees pulled up, trying to make herself smaller. To hear her cry.

He leaned over and wrapped her up in his arms like he used to when she was younger. She cried into his chest and he stroked the back of her head, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, trying to keep the fury out of his tone.

She shook her head.

Pulling back, he ran a thumb under her eye to catch the tears.

“Did he make you do something you didn’t want to do?”

“No” she sniffled.

“Why are you so upset?” he asked, chasing her gaze when she tried to look away.

She shook her head, closing her eyes for a second as if to compose herself. Even in such a vulnerable moment, she was so strong. He’d never not be proud of her.

“I shouldn’t have done it…I feel dirty and ashamed and _stupid_ ” she spat that last word. “And I feel like I let you down” she said, another tear sliding down her cheek.

He released a breath, stroking her cheek.

He knew this conversation would come one day. He blamed himself. He’d spent years making jokes that he’d shoot any guy that so much as looked at her. That’s why she hadn’t come to him about this.

He knew he wouldn’t be the only single dad who didn’t know how to talk to his fifteen year-old daughter about sex, but now she thought she’d let him down and that broke his heart all over again.

He let her go with a kiss to the top of her head, starting the car again. It was a few moments before he spoke again, trying to find the right words.

He put his foot on the gas, shifting in his seat.

“I don’t think anyone’s first time is ever good”

He saw her glance at him from the corner of her eye, fighting a smile as she looked down at her lap. “I don’t want to hear about yours”

He laughed out loud at that. That kind of cheeky comeback was more like his girl.

“How old were you?” she asked after a moment.

“Thought you didn’t want to hear about it” he teased, rolling his head to look at her. He was glad to see a bit of colour back in her cheeks. “Sixteen” he told her. “I was a little punk. ‘s why I’ve always been so protective over you”

She released a shaky breath at that.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you couldn’t tell me” he told her quietly. “I’m not gonna pretend I’d have been okay with it. I think you’re too young for all of that…but shoutin’ and sendin’ you to your room would have ended the same way so that’s on me”

“It’s not your fault dad” she protested.

“If I want you to tell me this stuff, I can’t blow up when you do. I have to let you make your own decisions. I hate it, but you’re not a baby anymore”

That set the waterworks off again.

A thought occurred to him and he panicked again.

“Did you use a condom?”

She nodded and he sank back into the seat in relief.

“I wish it hadn’t happened and I feel stupid for doing it, but I’m not that irresponsible”

“I know you’re not”

Maybe they’d have to have the contraception talk. Not tonight but soon. Maria would be laughing at him, fumbling his way through this, he thought.

“I made a stupid decision”

“Stop callin’ yourself stupid. Like I said, I’ve been scared shitless about this day for a long time but it was gonna happen at some point”

She shot him a questioning look as he turned into the McDonalds drive thru. “Dad, you do know it’s nearly 1am right?”

He got them ice cream, and they sat in the car in the parking lot and ate it like they used to when she was little.

“So who’s this _boy_ then?” he raised a brow, catching some ice cream in his mouth before it melted off the spoon.

She blushed, hiding her face.

“You just skipped out on him in favour of waiting for me in the pouring rain?”

“I didn’t want him to see that I was upset” she mumbled, pulling at the sleeves of Frank’s hoody. “So I pretended Sarah called me, said she was picking me up. Then I walked to the next neighbourhood to wait for you…”

“You shouldn’t be walking around like that at this time of night”

“I know but I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally” she sighed.

Silence fell between them again and she was just playing with her dessert at this point, pushing it around with her spoon.

“I do like him…I didn’t just do it because the other girls are”

He pushed his cheek with his tongue. “Your friends are probably full of shit anyway”

He put his ice cream in the cupholder, licking his thumb where it had leaked.

“I don’t want to do it again…” she told him. “You were right. I’m too young”

“If he puts any pressure on you, you let me know alright?”

He was trying to make it sound supportive rather than threatening, though he wasn’t sure he was successful. Even so, she accepted the request with a short nod.

“I’m sorry for overreacting and scaring you”

“You’re not overreacting. You weren’t ready and you know that now”

She nodded. “He didn’t make me do anything dad; I promise. He’s nice. I think you’d like him”

Frank couldn’t help but let out a humourless laugh at that.

“Okay, maybe if this hadn’t happened tonight you would have” she laughed.

He melted when she reached across the centre console to hold his hand on the drive back. Everyone had always joked that she had him wrapped around her little finger and that was absolutely true.

He popped his head into the bathroom when they got back, watching her braiding her hair, damp from the shower.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded, coming up to wrap her arms around his waist.

He was caught off-guard by the tears pricking the back of his eyes. Hugs like this made him nostalgic for her baby years. She was a little woman now.

“Can you tuck me in?” she asked, looking up at him. He hoped she hadn’t noticed that he was emotional but she knew him too well, squeezing him tighter.

“Go ahead, I’ll be in in a sec” he ran a hand over her hair.

When he sat down on the edge of her bed, she rolled over and reached for him. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and heard her whisper another apology.

“You’ve got nothin’ to be sorry about” he promised. “I’m sorry you couldn’t be honest with me. Your mom would have been much better at this stuff”

Thinking about Maria made his heart hurt, especially at a time like this. He wondered how she’d have handled it. Remembered how beautiful a soul she had, how great a mom she was.

“You’re more than enough dad” she whispered. “I called you because even though I was scared you’d be ashamed of me, I knew you’d be there. You’re always there when I need you”

She sniffled again and he hugged her harder. “You can tell me anythin’, I’ll always be there for you” he mumbled into her hair. “I’ll never not be proud of you”

“Love you dad”

“Love you too baby girl”

He stayed until she fell asleep, watching the little flutter of her eyelids as she dreamed.

Later, he lay awake in his own bed, staring at the ceiling.

He remembered holding her in his arms the day she was born. He remembered what the nurse had said to him as he ran a fingertip down her tiny nose.

“No one will break your heart quite like your daughter"


End file.
